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As a commercial real estate agent or broker, you really do need to be prepared for the difficult clients and the characters they present to you as part of the property negotiation. In any property transaction be it for sale or lease, there will be plenty of pressures on the clients and the buyers or tenants that you work with. Under pressure those people will respond differently and require certain strategies to move ahead.

Fix these Client Challenges

Here are some of the common client challenges you will find in any property negotiation:

Failure to listen is quite common. Some clients under pressure are overly pushy and will not listen to logic and reason. You will need plenty of market evidence when it comes to working with these clients. Whilst the client may initially fail to listen to your logical arguments and recommendations, they ultimately do not want to lose the negotiation battle or come out second-best. In these situations you do need to show them the best alternatives from their perspective.

Indecision can be a real issue. Some people need to talk about the issue from many different directions before they will make a decision. The problem is driven from uncertainty and a conservative position. In this case you will need to reduce the pressure and provide a few alternatives for the client consider whilst recommending the best alternative.

Meandering can be a problem for some clients. Some clients cannot move directly to a decision as they work through the property negotiation. They simply cannot get to the point of taking action at the right time and in the right way. You are the guide to help them move ahead.

Control within the deal can be a requirement for some. They will simply not make a decision unless they know they are fully in control and can win from the process of negotiation. In that case you will need to show them the best outcome to the deal, and support them in the process of that negotiation.

Trust is really important. Some clients are very unreliable and cannot be trusted when it comes to what they say and what they do. You will need to protect yourself from future claims of negligence and misrepresentation. When you are working with unreliable clients, ensure that you document everything agreed and said as part of the property transaction. Backup all the instructions and the decisions through direct correspondence between the parties.

Given all of these things, it is critical that you control the property negotiation from beginning to end. Understand your own character as a negotiator, and don’t let it derail or offend any person in the property transaction. The top agents in the industry today are generally expert negotiators in every respect. They take the time to work through the requirements of both of the parties to the deal, whilst watching the characters and the positions of each person in moving to final agreement.

Given that there is normally a lot of money involved in any commercial property sale or lease, some transactions agreements can slow down and take days if not weeks to get across the line. When any property transaction becomes difficult or slow, it is best to relieve the pressure on your client, and assess the positions of the parties. In that way you can adjust strategically to what other people are thinking and doing.

A successful property transaction is usually a compromise for both parties. There will be some wins and losses in every property transaction, and you are the professional agent to help your client and the other parties to the deal move through those realities. I go back to the point that you should practice your negotiation skills regularly and specifically to the property market and the property type. Understand the most common and frequent deal related problems of the industry today. Look for the best ways that you can move through the most common challenges and hurdles. As a solution provider and top negotiator you can convert more deals and help more clients.

Some property deals in sales and leasing take considerable thought and creativity to achieve and document a legal and correct outcome. You are the person to bring about that result through your professional skills and practice.